There is a word for it in mexico

For extraordinary website featuring 70 cultural insight books on America, China, Japan, Korea and Mexico go to: www.cultural-insight-books.info

A PERSONAL PROFILE OF BOYE LAFAYETTE DE MENTE, BY MALI BERGER, SECRETARY OF THE ARIZONA AUTHORS ASSOCIATION:

Boye Lafayette De Mente, internationally known author of pioneer books on the business practices, cultures and languages of China, Japan, Korean and Mexico, plus numerous other cultural-insight titles, founded the Arizona Authors Association in 1978 and became the first president by unanimous vote.

In addition to inaugurating a monthly newsletter, he also took the lead in sponsoring spring and fall seminars whose speakers included famous authors, agents, editors, publishers and book distributors from around the country. By the end of its first year the AAA had over 400 members. The following year De Mente initiated an annual Arizona Literary Contest and the Arizona Literary Magazine.

For the next seven years De Mente not only headed up the AAA, he continued to function as a prolific writer and as a small press publisher, becoming an approved vendor for the leading American bookstore chains as well shipping books to Australia, Japan, Europe and South Africa.

Born on November 12, 1928, to Elza Lafayette and Ruby (Bounds), in Mayberry, Missouri (a tiny isolated valley in the Ozark Hills of southeast Missouri with a population of some 37 people), the 4th of nine siblings, De Mente recalls the horse and buggy days. His family never owned an automobile until the 1950s. His maternal grandfather farmed, raised sugar cane and made molasses the old-fashioned way—with a mule pulling a grinder to crush the stalks and then boiling the juice in large flat-bed vats. His paternal grandfather was a farmer and raised cattle, hogs and horses. His father worked for logging operations as a cutter and sawyer.

Boye was going on seven years old when he started to school, and the following summer he began working with his father, helping him fell trees and cut logs for ties and stave bolts (the latter to make barrels). His job was to keep the long crosscut saw from flapping, as his father did all of the pulling and pushing of the saw. By the time he was ten he was working during the summer months in the sawdust pits of saw mills, underneath the carriage, hauling away the sawdust. He earned fifty cents a week.

One time while on a log-float down the Current River with his father, a log he stepped on rolled, causing him to fall into the river. A nail that someone had hammered into the log punctured his leg. He still has the scar.

When living in Redford (a tiny town of some 75 people a few miles from his birthplace in Mayberry), Boye and his brothers were fishing in a creek that ran through the town when he stepped on a water moccasin snake. It curled up around his foot and bit him. He spent the next ten minutes chasing the snake, trying to gig it. Then went home and told his mother. There were no doctors in the area, so she put kerosene on the punctures. He survived the poisonous, two-fang bite because it was under water and much of the poison was washed away. But his foot swelled up so large he couldn’t wear a shoe on it for several weeks, and the skin peeled off twice.

When the family moved to St. Louis in 1941, Boye’s first job was selling excess military supplies on a sidewalk in downtown. Then he worked in an ice cream parlor. He could eat anything he wanted free once a day, but restricted himself to only one scoop of peppermint ice cream per week. At age thirteen, he was practicing restraint.

Because of his performance record in elementary school, Boye was allowed to go from the fifth grade to the seventh grade, making up for his late start. He was 14 when he graduated from Peabody Elementary and entered McKinley High School. That same summer, before high school started, he went to work for the Lennox Hotel as a busboy, working the afternoon and evening shift during the week, and the early morning shift on weekends.

After school started De Mente would go to McKinley High at seven o’clock in the morning and do his homework in the gym before classes started. During his entire high school life he never took a book or homework home even once. He went directly from school to work.

But because he took five subjects instead of the usual four and went to summer school twice, he had enough credits to graduate in the spring of 1946—after an elapsed time of just two years and eight months. And, that’s only the beginning of De Mente’s extraordinary life.

Immediately after graduation at age 17, De Mente joined the U.S. Navy (1946-1948) first serving on the USS Fillmore, and then going to a Cryptographer School in Washington D. C. Apparently, because of his family name, it was believed he was Hispanic, and he ended up in the Spanish Language Department of the Naval Communication Supplementary Activities (NCSA), the Navy’s intelligence arm.

Soon after his discharge from the Navy De Mente enlisted in the Army Security Agency (ASA), where he was promised faster promotions because of his cryptology background in the Navy. He was again assigned to Washington, D.C. where he was trained to operate IBM machines (the computers of the day!) creating indexes for breaking codes.

Expecting to be sent to Latin America because of his Spanish experience, De Mente was shipped to Japan instead, where he became part of a team of seven other IBM operators in a special code-breaking section of the ASA headquarters in Tokyo. The primary interest of the ASA in Japan at that time was Russia and North Korea.

When the Korean War broke out in 1950 President Harry Truman added a year to eighteen months to every enlistment, resulting in De Mente staying an additional year and a half in Tokyo. During his third year at ASA Tokyo, he took advantage of his off-duty time to found a newspaper called the ASA Star. Eventually, the very popular weekly propelled him into a full time editorship, and he has been writing full time ever since.

During these ASA years, De Mente also published his first book, «Japanese Simplified.» For the book, he created a phonetic system for pronouncing Japanese in English, making it possible to use the language without having to go through a long learning process.

While still in the ASA in Tokyo De Mente took mail-order courses that got him two years credit at Tokyo’s Jochi [Sophia] University. When he was discharged from the ASA in Colorado Springs in 1952, he hitchhiked to Phoenix, Arizona and enrolled at Thunderbird School of Global Management, in Glendale, known at that time as the American Institute for Foreign Trade (AIFT).

Back in 1946 when he was still serving on the USS Fillmore, Boye’s sister Jessie, who lived in Phoenix, had sent him a clipping about the first class of this Institute with a note, «A nut like you might want to go to this kind of school some day.» He received that letter on Christmas Day while sitting on an overturned bucket chipping paint on the fantail of the USS Fillmore. «It took me six years to get to the school but I did, much to my sister’s delight,» he said.

Graduating from AIFT in the spring of 1953, De Mente returned to Tokyo, got a daytime job at the Japan Travel Bureau and attended night classes at Jochi University, earning a degree in the Japanese language and in economics.

Between 1954 and 1962, De Mente’s career as an editor went into fast forward through six Japanese magazines and newspapers. He acknowledges important friends who aided his dramatic transformations within the Asian world. His first full-time commercial job in journalism was with PREVIEW Magazine in the spring of 1954.

This very successful English language magazine was published in Tokyo by a former member of the American Occupational forces, Bob Booth, and in its heyday was the second-largest English language publication in Japan (after Reader’s Digest). A former ASA colleague, Bob Black, was instrumental in getting De Mente appointed editor of the magazine, but within six months after he joined Preview it ceased publication because within two years after the end of the U.S. Occupation of Japan in 1952 the number of foreigners in Japan fell by over 90 percent.

When Preview magazine failed, De Mente and the former advertising sales manager, George Pokrovsky, a White [non-Communist] Russian born and raised in Yokohama, Japan, founded the Far East Reporter, another monthly magazine, with De Mente serving as the editor. But he also left this new magazine after only two months because it wasn’t able to pay him a salary. (The now very successful successor to this magazine is still in publication, and over the decades De Mente has served as a contributing editor and currently has a monthly column in the magazine. It is still headed up by his old friend George Pokrovsky and George’s son, Mike.)

After leaving the Far East Reporter, De Mente and a former Jochi University classmate, Lou Segaloff, got a subsidy from the American Embassy to publish a weekly newspaper called Kembun (meaning «See and Hear») as a propaganda sheet aimed at increasingly revolutionary Japanese university students. The subsidy dried up in six months.

This time De Mente joined with Marvin Meyer, an expatriate American from Philadelphia, to found the cultural magazine Today’s Japan. While still with Today’s Japan, De Mente took a second job on the swing-shift with The Japan Times, the largest English language newspaper in the country.

On the editorial staff, De Mente worked as a copy editor and headline writer. In 1957, while working at the Japan Times, an Australian adventurer named Ben Carlin showed up in Tokyo on an amphibious jeep called «Half-Safe» (named after the deodorant «Don’t be Half-Safe!») on which he was circling the globe, and invited Boye to accompany him on the last major leg of the journey, crossing the North Pacific Ocean from Japan to Alaska.

That foolish and very dangerous trip was later memorialized by De Mente in his appropriately named book, ONCE A FOOL: From Japan to Alaska by Amphibious Jeep. The 4-month crossing of the North Pacific and Bering Sea made Life Magazine, Saturday Evening Post, and the Guinness Book of World Records.

During his recuperation from the trip in Phoenix, Arizona, De Mente’s old Far Eastern Area Studies professor at AIFT, Emily Brown, called him and asked him if he wanted to go back to Tokyo and become the editor of a new trade magazine called Oriental America that had just been founded by a recent AIFT graduate, Ray Woodside.

De Mente naturally said yes, and took over editorship of the magazine in the spring of 1958. Soon thereafter, the decision was made to change the name of the publication to The IMPORTER—and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

[In September of that year, at the age of 29, Boye married Margaret Warren, a girl he had met in Phoenix while recuperating from the jeep trip across the Pacific. He «imported» her, and they were married in Tokyo. He says she has been a wonderful wife who allowed him to do his thing and helped rather than hindered him in everything he has done since they first met. They were to have two daughters, Dawn Ruby, born in Tokyo, and Demetra born in Phoenix.]

Within a year the newly named subscription-only IMPORTER Magazine was the most successful trade journal in Japan, playing a leading role in hundreds of Japanese manufacturers and exporters making their first post-World War II contacts with importers in the U.S. and Europe.

One of these companies was a small firm called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha. After advertising in ORIENTAL AMERICA, the predecessor to The IMPORTER, for three months (with a one-sixth of a page ad; the smallest size available), this small company got lined up with General Distributors in Canada and Delmonico in New York as importers of its new product—a tiny transistor radio. Five years later the company changed its name to Sony (which was the brand name of its little radio).

To mark the occasion, Sony sent a full-page ad to The IMPORTER. The English text of the ad was riddled with mistakes. Publisher Ray Woodside had the Japanese office manager call Sony and ask if they could correct the copy. Sony’s office manager said no. De Mente and the office manager then went to Sony’s headquarters in the Shinagawa district of Tokyo to try to convince them that the ad copy should be corrected. The office manager, who spoke no English, refused their request. IMPORTER publisher Woodside refused to run the ad. Thereafter, Sony boycotted the magazine.

In short order, The IMPORTER opened offices in Korea, Taiwan and, Hong Kong, and appointed agents in Bangkok, Singapore and Manila. As the editor, De Mente covered these areas, making regular trips out of Tokyo and later out of Hong Kong to interview makers and exporters and seek out new products to feature editorially in the magazine.

Newly established companies in these countries began advertising in The IMPORTER in large numbers, initiating a growth period that is remarkable in the annals of world trade.

[During this rapid growth period, The IMPORTER hired several other Thunderbird graduates, including Merle Hinrichs, recommended by De Mente, who started out as the ad manager in Hong Kong, ended up buying The IMPORTER, becoming the largest trade publisher in Asia with over 50 magazines, a major contributor to Thunderbird, and a member of the Board.]

Because De Mente could communicate with Japanese makers, exporters and foreign buyers who flocked to Japan during these years, he became a sort of middleman between them, trying to help each side understand the other side.

In late 1958 and early 1959, De Mente published a series of articles in the magazine on the Japanese way of doing business; how they think, and why they do certain things.

He then added an introduction and several new chapters to the collection of articles and sent the manuscript, entitled «Japanese Manners & Ethics in Business,» to McGraw-Hill in New York. They turned it down, saying there was not enough market for that kind of book. He then sent it to Prentice-Hall. Same story.

The book was finally published in Tokyo by East Asia Publishing Co. in December 1959, and was an instant success, selling out three printings the first six months (and, ironically, is still in print today at McGraw-Hill…!). Interestingly, Printice-Hall also brought out an edition of the book before it ended up at M-H.] In later years the title of the book was changed to «Japanese Etiquette & Ethics in Business,» and was the beginning of an «etiquette and ethics» series of books.

This was to be the beginning of De Mente’s life-long career as a professional author. Following the success of «Japanese Etiquette & Ethics in Business,» De Mente quickly wrote «Bachelor’s Japan» to explain the male-oriented nighttime entertainment trades in Japan, including nightclubs, cabarets, and geisha houses, all of which played significant roles in both business and politics in Japan.

Several other books followed in quick order, including «How to Do Business with the Japanese,» a nitty-gritty type of manual on how the Japanese system works, from manufacturing and wholesaling to the retail trade, along with the advertising industry and public relations in all of their various business aspects.

De Mente’s first three books allowed him to retire from salaried employment in the summer of 1962. [He had the «business books on Japan market» totally to himself until 1968, when another title finally appeared.]

In the 1970s, 80s and 90s De Mente expanded his writing on Asia with books on Korea and China, including «Korean Etiquette & Ethics in Business» and «Chinese Etiquette & Ethics in Business,» plus a series of language books that included an English language phonetic pronunciation system, along with a series of «Cultural Code Word» books on Japan, Korea, China and Mexico that have made him internationally known.

De Mente says that key words in languages are both the reservoir and vehicles of culture, and function as ‘cultural codes.» He adds that key words in the Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Mexican languages explain the attitudes, values and behavior of the people down to the most subtle nuance, and that he used these words as windows or gateways to explain the cultures of these countries.

Today De Mente’s books are especially prized in business and university communities, and continue to enrich world-wide understanding between Asian and Western countries.

In addition to writing and publishing, De Mente’s ability to ‘live several lives at once,’ turns up, not only in his professional author/consultant work on the business cultures of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico, but also in his lecturing at Thunderbird, his old alma mater, at Arizona State University, and at other universities around the this country.

De Mente has a fascinating right brain/left brain balance in his life. He quotes Japan’s leading brain authority, Dr. Tadanobu Tsunoda, whose research has focused on the presence of vowels in the languages of «right brain» countries. Dr. Tsunoda says that since the languages of the Japanese and Polynesians are vowel heavy, the people tend toward right brain cultures, with emotional, imaginative, holistic and artistic behaviors. (De Mente served as one of Dr. Tsunoda’s subjects in his experiments on the functioning of the two sides of the brain.)

In contrast, says Dr. Tsunoda, the languages of the Germans, British, Americans and Chinese create more activity on the left side with linear, logical, analytical thinking. In the middle, the Romance languages of the Mexicans, Spanish, Portuguese and Italians generate partially right brain orientation in that they are also vowel heavy.

«But,» De Mente adds, «their attitudes and behavior are filled with contradictions, due in part to the programming of Catholicism, which is fundamentally irrational, and undermines some of the benefits of being dual-brained.» [He has turned his knowledge of left-brain right-brain functioning into a book, «Which Side of Your Brain Am I Talking To?»]

«Our biggest shortcomings, our biggest enemies, are religious beliefs that are irrational and often anti-human,» De Mente says. «Catholicism and Islam in particular have been and still are in many respects terrible religions. The truly humane and rational side of these religions is admirable, but religious leaders have traditionally distorted their purpose and role to shackle and control people by brain-washing them with beliefs that are not only irrational but also anti-human, even insane.

«All of the world’s leading organized religions are cults by their very nature, and until they can rid themselves of this basic failing and become universal philosophies based on the facts of life, on reality, the world will continue to be roiled by violence and drenched in the blood of the guilty and innocents alike.»

De Mente says there are millions of people who understand this and are working toward it in their own way, but that the desires and needs of human beings continue to be distorted and abused by leaders who have no respect for the feelings or the lives of others.

Human needs are simple, he says. «Personal freedom within the bounds of a democratic society should be the most fundamental of all human rights. Japan, Taiwan and South Korea are prime examples of what can happen in a country when people are given freedom. As the result of the American implementation of democracy in Japan following World War II the people of that tiny nation turned it into the world’s second largest economy in just thirty years—one of the most remarkable feats in the annals of humanity!»

His books range from the linear, logical analyses of language, business and universal wisdom to the exotic, sexual, sensual side of life inherent in Asian countries as well as Hawaii, Mexico and America.

What this country needs is more people like De Mente who have been «old» since age fifteen, with advanced, direction-oriented energies to live several lives in one; people who recall their own history and work alongside their parents in childhood capacities; people so dedicated to education that nothing stops their drive to learn, even when a sister says, «A nut like you might want to go to this kind of school (Thunderbird) some day.»

***

This biography was compiled from information obtained during an interview with Boye Lafayette De Mente in his Paradise Valley, Arizona home on March 1, 2006.

***

To see a list and synopses of Boye’s books go to his personal website: http://www.authorsonlinebookshop.com. Three of his latest books [2012]: THE MEXICAN MIND — Understanding & Appreciating Mexican Culture; JAPAN Understanding & Dealing with the New Japanese Way of Doing Business; CHINA Understanding & Dealing with the Chinese Way of Doing Business.

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When traveling in Spanish speaking countries, one of the best ways to befriend a native Spanish speaker is to have some knowledge of their local slang, which is why today we’re going to teach you the very best Mexican slang.

Of course, it’s a good idea to first know some basic Spanish words, or even better, learn the most common Spanish phrases for traveling.

Once you cover these, you’ll want to make local friends and what better way to do so than to speak the local lingo.

Since our post on Colombia slang proved to be so popular, we figured that it was time to dedicate a post on teaching the most commonly used Mexican slang.

 
 

(Some of the following language is a little “colorful”, and so we advise the easily offended to stop reading right now)

What are Mexican slang words you need to know?

1. Güey

This word is at the forefront of Mexican slang. Similar to “dude” in English, “güey” is commonly used for friends or acquaintances, and in some unpleasant situations, refers to strangers in a sarcastic way. Pronounced like “whey” in English.

• Mira güey, ¿salimos hoy o que? – Hey dude, wanna go out today?

2. Neta

This is another one of those words that you will hear in movies, tv shows, or from some Mexican friends. It usually means “the truth”, but when used interrogatively, it’s understood as:

• ¿Neta? – For real?

You can also refer to someone great by saying:

• ¡Eres la neta! –  You rock!

3. No manches

When a friend tells you about some amazing event, or something that you don’t know if it’s real or not, you would say No manches! (Really? or Are you kidding?).

You can also use ¡No mames! which means the same thing, but is a little more colourful (similar to damn!).

4. ¡Órale!

This word has many different purposes: amazement, approval, enthusiasm and even to complement orders.

• ¡Órale! ¿Y tu desde cuando trabajas tanto? – Wow, since when do you work so much?

5. ¡Aguas!

As odd as this expression may seem, it has no relation to water. This expression refers to being alert or aware of your surroundings.

• ¡Aguas! – Watch out!

6. Pinche

Typically used as an adjective to label something as ugly, terrible or of bad quality. Can also be used as a curse word to enhance an insult and its characteristics (the same way “fucking” in English is used.

• ¡Jajaja! pinche Ricardo, siempre sales con esas cosas – Hahahah, fucking Ricardo, you always come up with stuff like this

• Eres un pinche idiota, Ricardo – You’re a fucking idiot, Ricardo

7. Chido

Mexicans love to use “chido” to describe something cool, or with good vibes. It can be used with people, objects or situations.

• Esta bien chido ese regalo, gracias wey – That gift is really cool, thanks man

8. No Hay Bronca

Let’s start with “bronca”, commonly used to refer to a problem or discomfort. So as you can imagine “no hay bronca”, means that there is no problem – everything is fine.

• Claro, yo te puedo prestar algo de dinero, no hay bronca – Sure, I can lend you some money, no problem

9. Chavo or Chava

The most commonly used words to describe children, adolescents and young people in general. Similar to “kid” in English.

• El chavo sigue en el colegio, debería buscarlo – The boy is still in school, I should pick him up

10. Naco

Mexican slang for someone with a tacky, or poor attitude, and is considered less sophisticated than your regular member of society. Most of the time, a naco acts unpleasantly, is not well-educated and uses certain colorful slang. Close equivalent to “ghetto” in English.

• Naaah, te ves muy naco con eso, mejor cambiate – Nah, you look really trashy on that, go change

11. Fresa

You probably recognize this word as “strawberry”, but in Mexican slang, “fresa” is used to describe a person who is a snob, stuck-up and basically, thinks that they are better than everyone else. They’ll likely speak with a distinct accent – which may or may not be fake.

• Sabes que no me gusta salir con hombres como él, es demasiado fresa – You know I don’t like going out with men like him, he’s way too stuck up

12. Chicano

Natives use this word to describe people of Mexican origin born in the United States, or people who were born in Mexico but emigrated to the US at an early age.

• Hay una población bastante grande de Chicanos en Los Angeles – There is a very important Chicano population in Los Angeles

13. Cholo

Commonly heard in the southwest of the United States, “cholo” is a somewhat loosely defined term, but it generally refers to Mexican gangsters, with a very specific look – big white shirts, black baggy shorts, shaved heads, religious black ink tattoos, black shades, etc.

• Tengo algunos primos cholos, pero prefiero no meterme en eso – I have a few cholo cousins, but I’d rather not get involved with that

14. Metiche

That person who always has his/her nose in other people’s business. Not guaranteed to spread rumors, but still likes to keep tabs on everyone’s business.

• Hay demasiados metiches en mi trabajo, no los soporto – There are too many nosy people on my job, I can’t stand them

15. Tocayo

Nickname given to anyone who shares your first name.

• Ahí va el tocayo – There goes my tocayo

16. Prieto

While this may seem a little racist to an English speaker, in Mexico this word is seen as non-offensive slang to describe someone with darker skin.

• ¿Recuerdas quién es Daniel? Mi amigo prieto, estuvo acá el otro día – Remember who Daniel is? My black friend, he was there the other day

17. Vieja

Although this directly translates to “old lady”, in Spanish and particularly Mexican slang, this word is used as an affectionate word for your mom.

• Tengo que visitar a la vieja de vez en cuando, y darle algún regalito – I have to visit my mother from time to time, and give her some little present

18. Padre

Similarly, this literally translates as “father”, but in Mexican slang means cool. You’ll hear common phrases such as “que padre!” (“How cool!”) or ‘más padre’ (‘very cool’). Just like “chido”, it can be used when talking about people, things or situations.

• Está bien padre ese juego, ¿como se llama? – That videogame looks really cool, how’s it called?

19. Chela

Chelas, or cheves are beers, and the word comes from a beer cocktail (michelada) that mixes beer with lime, chili and tomato juice.

• Dame dos chelas para mi y mi compadre – Give me two chelas for me and my compadre.

20. Pomo

A rather short name for a bottle of any liquor that you might find, from vodka to some fine tequila.

• Las chelas no van a alcanzar para todo el mundo, hay que abrir un pomo – Beers aren’t going to be enough for everyone, we have to open a bottle

21. Malacopa

The lightweight person who gets drunk extremely easy or extremely fast – we all know someone like that.

• Creo que el pomo no hacía falta, estos son muy malacopa – I think the bottle wasn’t even necessary, these guys are extreme lightweights

22. Crudo

The imminent future of a “malacopa” is to have a hangover.

• Esta mañana amaneci crudo – I woke up with a hangover today

23. Cantina

Sounds similar to a canteen, and they serve a similar purpose, since this term means “bar” for Mexican folk.

(A naco will probably describe a nightclub as “antros”)

• Hoy no tengo ganas de ir a la cantina, vayan ustedes – I don’t want to go to the bar tonight, but you guys can go

24. Pedo

This word has 3 uses a) a fart b) being buzzed/drunk c) being a problem.

• No pensé que fuesen a volver tan pedos wey – I didn’t think you’d come home so drunk, man.

25. Chamba

A difficult and demanding job, or an unpleasant situation i.e. something you don’t want to get stuck in for too long.

• Mañana tengo que volver a mi chamba wey, o me despiden – I have to go back to my job tomorrow man, or I’ll get fired

26. Changarro

The name given to small, wholesome family businesses – like the bodega (mom and pop store) on the corner of the street.

• Ve al changarro ese y ve si tienen algunos dulces – Go to the store and see if they have any kind of candy

27. Chafa

Something that is of very low quality, disappointing or prone to causing frustration and have you screaming “¡Que chafa!” which means “what crap!”.

• Esa camisa está chafa – This t-shirt is bad quality (or fake)

28. Varos

Slang word for money, capable of replacing the word “pesos” since it can hold a numerical value, like “bucks”.

• Me pagaron esta semana, puedo poner unos cuantos varos más para la pizza – I got paid this week, I can help with a few more bucks for the pizza

29. Refresco

Commonly used slang term for sodas of any kind.

• ¿Quieres beber refresco o te sirvo algo más? – Do you want to drink some soda or do you want me to serve you something else?

30. Paro

This simply means favor, and will replace the word in most occasions.

• ¿Me puedes hacer un paro y recordarme eso? – Can you do me a favor and remind me of that?

31. Gacho

This is a substitute for “feo” (ugly), though both words are used in a much wider sense than for physical ugliness i.e. just general badness.

• No seas gacho, déjalos ir al parque – Don’t be so boring, let them go to the park

32. Jalada

A word for something that is completely unbelievable or overdone, like “The Fast and Furious” movie franchise.

• No puede ser, que jalada toda esa historia, ¿como quieres que te crea? – That’s a ridiculous story, how do you want anyone to believe you?

33. Chorro

When you have a stream of something, meaning you have large quantities of it (like “The Fast and Furious” boxset collection).

• Tenemos un chorro de películas por ver esta vacaciones, deberíamos comenzar – We have a ton of movies to watch on vacation, we should get started

34. Ratero

In Mexico, “ratero” is used instead of “ladrón”. Both words mean “thief”.

• Pues el teléfono me lo robó un ratero, así que no tengo – A thief robbed me off of my phone, so i don’t have one

25. Vocho

Nickname for the old Volkswagen Beetle, a car you will see a lot in Mexico.

• ¿Por qué hay tantos vochos en la capital? – Why are there so many beetles in the capital city?

36. Chamarra

In Mexico, this word is slang for jacket or coat, and acts as a replacement for “chaqueta” which is used in every other Spanish speaking country.

That’s because in some parts of Mexico, “chaqueta” is a slang term for masturbation or touching yourself.

So if you want to avoid an awkward (and possibly funny moment,  the next time you go to buy a “jacket” in Mexico, it’s best to use the slang term.

• ¿Me prestas tu chamarra? – Can I have your jacket for a minute?

37. Chanclas

A word for sandals and flip-flops, a common sight everywhere in the country.

• Deberías ponerte algo mejor que esas chanclas para salir – You should put on something better than those flip-flops to go out

38. Camión

A slang word for both formal and informal route buses, even though it means “truck” in the rest of Latin America.

• Apúrate que no vamos a alcanzar el camión – Hurry up or we won’t catch the bus

________________________

By learning these Mexican slang terms, you’ll have a better chance of endearing yourself to the locals – or at the very least make a Spanish speaker laugh.

For some slightly more NSFW words, make sure to read our ultimate guide to Spanish curse words here.

Content

• Properly Mexican words
• Achicopalar
• Acocote
• Pamper
• Sidewalk
• snack
• Cantinflear
• Stroller
• ketchup
• Chatter
• Chafa
• Chalet
• Chaparro / rra
• Chavo / goes
• Check
• beer
• Chero
• Cheve
• Cool / day
• Chilango / ga
• Choco / ca
• Raw
• Friend
• Scotch tape
• Gross
• Güero / ra
• Son
• Snout / na
• Huarache
• Jaina
• Jocho
• Tire
• Bag
• Naco / ca
• Net
• Orale
• T-shirt
• Pulque
• Refri
• Ruco
• Serape
• Teto
• Tianguis
• Tlachique
• Tompiates
• Unicel
• Vato
• Kid
• Words with different meanings in Mexico
• Waters
• lunch
• Joint
• Good
• Hearty
• Truck
• Suck
• Food
• Coyotito
• Girdle
• Strawberry
• Scrub
• Beat
• often
• Bear
• Father
• Lace
• Blowout
• Cake
• Words that could be considered vulgar
• Dumbass
• Chichona
• Fuck
• Chingada
• Chingadazo
• Fucking
• Chingón / na
• Culero / ra
• Start
• Riot
• Güey
• Huevón / na
• Joto
• Mother
• Suck
• Mamón / na
• Panocha
• Fart / day
• Scullion
• Whistle
• Dunce
• Themes of interest
• References

Some say there are so many mexican words as there are Mexicans in the world. Mexico is a country with approximately 120 million inhabitants and a land area of ​​almost 2 million square kilometers.

This makes the diversity of words originated by Mexicans surprising even themselves since, although there are words that everyone uses and understands, there are many more that are used in each region or state.

Going from the southeast to the north of the Mexican territory can bring the feeling that you have traveled from one country to another. The pronunciation, accent or tone and the difference in names that they have for each thing generates communication problems between nationals themselves, and what to say between foreigners.

The following describes Mexican words and idioms invented in this country, in addition to other existing ones that are given a different meaning in Mexico.

Properly Mexican words

The Mexicans invented their own words that were generated from the sounds of indigenous words, words in English or other languages, and even from the abbreviation of phrases in Spanish.

As a consequence of globalization, some of these words are already used in other countries, or at least understood.

Achicopalar

Discourage: «Don’t get shy.»

Acocote

Instrument used to extract mead from the maguey: “Bring me the acocote”.

Pamper

Lovingly hugging or caressing: «I need a cuddle.»

Sidewalk

Sidewalk: «He got on the sidewalk.»

snack

Sandwich, aperitif or light meal: «I brought the snacks.»

Cantinflear

Talk bluntly, incongruously and nonsensically: «Stop chanting and tell me what happened.» This term originated from a well-known character from Mexican films called Cantinflas, since speaking in that way was one of its main characteristics.

Stroller

Baby carriage: «Put the baby in the stroller.»

ketchup

Tomato sauce: «Can you pass me the ketchup?»

Chatter

Talk or converse a lot about a topic but without substance. Chattering can also mean trading or negotiating things that are not of great value.

Chafa

Something of poor quality or little value: «The design is a bit shabby.»

Chalet

Expression of surprise, usually in a negative or regretful way: «Chale, you would have told me!»

Chaparro / rra

Short person: «She is very short.»

Chavo / goes

Young person: «I used to go when I was young.»

Check

Same meaning of the Spanish verb check, revise or examine: “Check the invoices they sent”.

beer

A chela is a beer. Example: Let’s have some chelas!

Chero

Prison or jail: «They sent him to the car.»

Cheve

Beer: «Let’s go for some cheves.»

Cool / day

Something good or cute: «This restaurant is cool.»

Chilango / ga

Person or thing from the capital (Federal District): «The Chilangos don’t understand this.»

Choco / ca

Person or thing from the Tabasco state: «Choco cocoa is the best.»

Raw

Hangover: «He gave me raw.»

Friend

Very close friend, only for the male gender: «He is my friend.»

Scotch tape

Although it is a brand, in Mexico all adhesive tapes are called like this: «We glue the poster with diurex.»

Gross

Expression of disgust or disgust: «Guácala, I will not eat that!».

Güero / ra

White or blond-haired person: «My sister is a blonde.»

Son

Expression of surprise or amazement: «Hi, I didn’t know that!»

Snout / na

Boastful or indiscreet person: «He was snout to tell him what I said»

Huarache

Sandals: «He put on his huaraches.»

Jaina

Girlfriend: «I have no jaina.»

Jocho

Hot dog or hot dog: “I ate 2 jochos”.

Tire

Fat fold around the waist: «I already got tires from eating so many tacos.»

Bag

Bag or purse that is carried on the back: «Put the notebooks in your backpack.»

Naco / ca

Vulgar or rude person: «I didn’t want it for naco.»

Net

Truth or sincere person: «It is clear that it rained.»

Orale

Expression to exhort someone to hurry up or to do something: «Oh, we’re late!», Astonishment or surprise: «Oh, you’re so great!», Or just to let it be known that what the other person understood or understood person said, synonymous with the expression “OK”.

T-shirt

Short-sleeved collarless shirt: «I only have black shirts.»

Pulque

Alcoholic drink that is obtained by fermenting the juice that is extracted from the maguey: “We drink a lot of pulque”.

Refri

Coming from the word «refrigerator», it is the appliance where food is kept: «The water is in the fridge.»

Ruco

Elderly person, belonging to the third age, old.

Serape

Blanket or blanket with an opening in the center to introduce the head and use as a garment, usually in bright colors: «Take your serape just in case.»

Teto

Silly or childish person: «What a tit!»

Tianguis

Popular or informal economy market that is usually provisional: «I bought fruits at the tianguis.»

Tlachique

Maguey juice: «You have to extract the tlachique.»

Tompiates

Word used to refer to the testicles. It is also an indigenous basket made of palm to store tortillas.

Unicel

Expanded polystyrene: «They gave me a Styrofoam cup.»

Vato

Man or boy: «I saw a guy from school.»

Kid

It is a word to refer in a derogatory way to a child. The origin of this word comes from the Nahuatl language «iztcuíntli» and did not refer to children, but to a hairless dog that existed in Mexico before the arrival of the Spanish. A synonym for this word is «brat.»

Words with different meanings in Mexico

There are words in Spanish that said in Mexico can mean something totally different from its original definition, so understanding it will depend on the context in which they are said.

Waters

Expression of warning or caution, as if to say to be careful: «Waters on that street.»

lunch

Food eaten in the morning after breakfast and before the main meal: «I brought lunch and dinner.»

Joint

Leisure venue to drink alcoholic beverages, listen to music and dance, usually at night: «On Saturday we went to the club.»

Good

Greeting when answering the phone: «Good?»

Hearty

Although Campeche is the gentilicio of Campeche, a state of Mexico, this word is used in several regions of the country to refer to a food or drink formed by the combination of different foods or drinks, without being related to this state: “It gives me four hearty tacos ”.

Truck

Bus: «I got on the truck.»

Suck

Alcoholic drink or its consumption: «Where is the chupe today?».

Food

When a Mexican uses this word, he usually refers specifically to food eaten in the middle of the day: «They offer breakfast, lunch and dinner there.»

Coyotito

Siesta: «A coyotito took off.»

Girdle

Encounter or moment in which caresses or kisses are passionately given: «I knew they were in a girdle.»

Strawberry

Person who is or behaves as if he belonged to the upper social class: «She is strawberry.»

Scrub

It can refer to beating: «You don’t know the scrubs he gave him», or excessive or complicated work: «My boss brings me in scrubs.»

Beat

When you feel like something or feel like it: «It beats me to see that movie.»

often

Food with pieces of the cow’s stomach: «There was not often on the menu.»

Bear

Shame or shame: «What a bear he gave me!»

Father

Something very good, excellent or impressive: «The concert was great.»

Lace

Graphite mines: «My toes ran out.»

Blowout

Spree, party or boisterous fun: “Let’s go out on a rampage”.

Cake

Bread that is cut lengthwise and filled with other foods: «I ate a ham cake.»

Words that could be considered vulgar

Although Mexicans are people of very good treatment and good manners, they very often use words that in some moments or situations can be considered vulgar.

Even in formal, business or social settings, words or expressions are used that may be frowned upon by people with whom one does not have much confidence, while among friends none of these would be considered offensive or disrespectful.

The common use of these words means that some are not considered as vulgar as others, but they are still so.

Dumbass

It can be a person with a bad character or very experienced, it will depend on the context: «What a bastard she is!»

Chichona

Woman with very large breasts: «You like it because it is big.»

Fuck

It is one of the words most used by the Mexican because of the multiple meanings it has. As a verb it can refer to:

-Damage («The computer already screwed up»).

-Working very hard («I go on chinga»).

-Steal («I fucked my pencil»).

-Commit a sexual act, generally as an offense («I fucked your sister»).

-Being annoying or annoying («He’s fucking me»).

Some of its conjugations can mean something very different or opposite, like the four mentioned below.

Chingada

Anything very bad or complicated: «He went to hell»; or promiscuous woman: «Damn mother!»

Chingadazo

Very strong blow: «He gave his fuck.»

Fucking

Expression of surprise: «Ah, fucking!».

Chingón / na

Very good person or thing, of excellent or extraordinary quality: «Your phone is awesome.»

Culero / ra

Fearful or cowardly person: «He did not come for asshole.»

Start

Same meaning of the verb drunk: «He just came to get started.»

Riot

Disorder or mess: «Everything was a mess.»

Güey

This word has different meanings. It can refer to a man who does not know himself: «A guy I saw on the street»; to a stupid person: “I’m going güey today”; to treat a friend: «Güey, I told you not to go»; or as an expression of amazement, warning or pain: «Güey, watch out!»

Huevón / na

Lazy or lazy person: «Come up, don’t be an idiot.»

Joto

Homosexual, effeminate or cowardly man: «I think he’s joto.»

Mother

Give very strong blows: «I was all screwed up.»

Suck

Exaggerate: «You’re sucking.»

Mamón / na

Cocky, unfriendly or hateful person: «Before you were very suckers.»

Panocha

Vulva or vagina: «The dog was smelling her pussy.»

Fart / day

It can refer to a party or meeting in which alcoholic beverages are drunk in excess: “I was in that peda”, to a person who is drunk: “It got really bad”, or to a conflict or problem: “He made me fart because I’ve arrived late».

Scullion

Despicable person or thing, of poor quality or insignificant: «The fucking cup fell.»

Whistle

Penis: «The cock was being seen.»

Dunce

Although it is a word of affectionate connotation, it is used to define someone who is rough, slow, silly or clumsy to learn.

Themes of interest

100 typical words and phrases from Argentina

50 most popular Peruvian phrases and words.

Colombian words.

Mexican phrases.

References

1. Mulato A. «17 Mexican phrases that do not make sense when said in English» (2016) in Verne. Retrieved on March 23, 2019 from Verne: verne.elpais.com
2. Cruz, M. «Discover the meaning of these 23 Mexican sayings» (2016) in Verne. Retrieved on March 23, 2019 from Verne: verne.elpais.com
3. Gaona, P. “Orale, how cool! The origin of these six words of daily use ”(2017) in Chilango. Retrieved on March 23, 2019 from Chilango: chilango.com
4. «Dictionary of Americanisms» (s.f.) in the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language. Retrieved on March 23, 2019 from the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language: lema.rae.es
5. «Dictionary of the Spanish Language» (s.f.) in the Royal Spanish Academy. Retrieved on March 23, 2019 from the Royal Spanish Academy: del.rae.es
6. Gómez de Silva, G. «Short Dictionary of Mexicanisms» (s.f.) in the Mexican Academy of the Spanish Language. Retrieved on March 23, 2019 from the Mexican Academy of the Spanish Language: academia.org.mx
7. Moreno, M. «26 words that Mexicans use daily and that the RAE does not recognize» (2016) in Verne. Retrieved on March 23, 2019 in Verne: verne.elpais.com
8. “20 Mexican words and expressions that we should all use” (2018) in Liopardo. Retrieved on March 23, 2019 in Liopardo: antena3.com
9. “7 Mexican slang words from Netflix’s Club de Cuervos” (2018) in Hello Spanish. Retrieved on March 23, 2019 in Hello Spanish: hellospanish.co
10. “5 More Mexican Slang Words that You Need to Know” (2017) in Hello Spanish. Retrieved on March 23, 2019 in Hello Spanish: hellospanish.co

100+ words and phrases for speaking and understanding real Mexican Spanish

It’s been more than five years since I published Top Ten Mexican Slang and its sequel Top 20 Mexican Slang. I’d never change the words on those lists, but 10 words, 20 words, heck, 100 words isn’t enough to cover the enormous amount of slang in Mexico.

So here’s my Master List of the most common, useful, and hilarious words and phrases in Mexican Spanish, which goes far beyond the top 10 or 20 (or the other articles online with the same words as my first two lists and obvious rewrites of my descriptions. You know who you are). I sincerely hope that when you hear these badass Spanish words, you’ll remember my examples of Mexican slang and laugh.

Everyday Expressions

¿Que Onda?

Along with ¿Qué pasó? and ¿Qué tal?, this is yet another way to say What’s up? A more informal version is ¿Que tranza?, or the vulgar ¿Que pedo?

Ondas are waves, but not waves in the ocean (which are olas), but sound or light waves. So perhaps a better translation for onda would be vibes.

Someone who is buena onda is cool or nice, while someone mala onda is not. Also, agarrar la onda means you understand, or get it.

Ella es buena onda — She’s cool.

¿Aggaraste la onda? — Do you get my drift?

¡Que milagro!

Literally What a miracle!, this is how Mexicans say Long time no see.

¿Mande?

Mande is the Mexican way to ask What? when you don’t understand what someone said. It can also be used like Tell me or Go ahead, to encourage someone to speak, often on the telephone. Another way to say this, which is like Huh? (not exactly a real word), is pronounced ei-oh.

¿Neta?

A highly informal Really? or For real?, neta can also mean that something is the best, as in esta fiesta es la neta — this party is the best.

Another common Mexican substitute for Really? (verdad, en serio) is ¿apoco?

¡No manches!

Instead of a question like ¿apoco?, another reaction to surprising information is to say ¡No manches! — No way! or Come on! The literal translation, Don’t stain, is ridiculous because it’s simply a euphemism for the vulgar no mames. Head down the list to Bad Words for other vulgar expressions in Mexican slang.

Ni modo

Literally no method, the common expression ni modo means it doesn’t matter, it can’t be helped, or a dismissive whatever.

¡Órale!

can be used for encouragement, like Go for it! or Right on! It can be used to agree: Let’s do it! or Let’s go! Or it can express excitement, like Wow! or My goodness!, similar to its second cousin híjole.

Ahorita

Ahora means now. The -ita or -ito (for feminine or masculine nouns) stem is a diminutive, used to show that something is small or cute. So literally ahorita means little now.

Mexicans might tell you that ahorita means right now, but really it means soon or eventually. If you ask a Mexican to do something and he or she replies with ahorita, then it could happen in five minutes, five hours, or never.

¿Puedes ayudarme con mi tarea? Ahorita. — Can you help me with my homework? Soon.

¿Ya nos vamos? Ahorita. — Let’s go now? Soon.

Luego luego

While luego means later, luego luego, unlike ahorita, actually does mean right now.

¡Aguas!

We all know that agua is water. But in Mexican slang, aguas means careful! or look out!

Aguas con los perros. — Careful with those dogs.

I was told that this expression comes from when a cleaning lady pours out a bucket of water onto the sidewalk, she warns passersby by yelling ¡Aguas!

Pinche

Not quite vulgar, pinche translates to many words in English, damn for example, but only when used to describe something or someone.

¡Pinche coche! – damn car

Pinche Juan – goddamn Juan (Also a song by Café Tacuba, good Mexican band for learning Mexican slang.)

This post contains affiliate links.

Chido

Chido means cool, usually objects and situations instead of people, for whom it’s more common to say buena onda. Another word for cool is padre (see Family below).

Cámara

No, not the Nikkon hanging around your neck, although it’s also the word for a camera and the tube inside a tire too. A general translation is chamber. But as an expression, cámara means I agree or it’s a deal. A stronger way to say this is with conste.

No Hay Bronca

This phrase of Mexican Slang has a special place in my heart — I named my blog after it. It means no problem and is an alternative to the vulgar No hay pedo. (Look for pedo under Drinking below.)

Words for People

Wey

Wey was #1 on my list of Top Ten Mexican Slang, and I stand by it. The “correct” spelling (of this “incorrect” word) is güey, which is derived from the word buey for an ox.

Ask middle-aged Mexicans, and they’ll tell you that wey didn’t exist when they were kids — at least, not like it does now. Once in the proper circles, you’ll hear wey between every other word, like how teenage American girls use like.

¡Simón wey, mira wey, chupamos veinte caguamas wey, no mames wey, estábamos bien pedos wey!

Wey (or güey) means dude, and if you haven’t already heard something like the example above, I hope that when you do you’ll recall this and laugh. (Simón is a slang substitute for sí, yes.)

When used angrily, however, wey means something like dumbass or idiot. In the north of Mexico, people say vato, which is borderline vulgar. Cabron, clearly on the vulgar side, can also be used in a friendly way with the right people.

In Baja California, people use the non-vulgar paisa, short for paisano, which means countryman. Compa is a common abreviation for compadre, used with close friends or relatives.

Carnal is used for a very close friend, often someone’s brother. And speaking of brothers, cuate (fraternal twin) is also used for a close friend.

Chavo/chava

In English we say kids, and in Mexico there are many slang words for muchachos. Chavo is perhaps the most common, but others are chamaco and morro. (Remember, end words like this with an -a instead of an -o for females, i.e. chava, chamaca, morra.)

Of course, like chick in English, these can be used for teenagers and up, as always depending on the situation. I have a friend my age who calls his girlfriend his morra.

Peques — short for pequeños — is used for little kids only. An escuincle is a spoiled brat, but it could apply to kids in general.

Ruco

A ruco is an old person, and the word can be used as a noun or an adjective. A chavoruco, therefore, is an old guy who acts (or tries to act) young.

A related word, rabo verde (literally green tail — green in the sense of not ripe), is an old guy who dates young women, or chases young tail.

Naco

Nacos are low-class folks, not necessarily because of their economic situation, but more because of attitude and behavior. The American English equivalent to this Mexican Slang would be redneck (more so than hick), and although nacos and rednecks actually have a lot in common, they would probably hate each other.

Fresa

Literally strawberry, a fresa is a picky, stuck-up person. For a woman it could translate as high maintenance. This can apply to things other than people as well; for example cheesy, lightweight rock is musica fresona, although the usual word for cheesy is cursi.

Another way to say picky, especially for food, is especial — special.

Chicano

These are Mexicans living in the United States, or Mexican-Americans. The illegal ones are mojados, which means wet, a reference to the unfortunate expression wetback.

Malinchista

A Mexican who doesn’t want to be Mexican, but loves to talk about his trip to the U.S. or Europe, is a malinchista. This comes from Malinche, Hernan Cortés’s indigenous translator (and lover) during the conquest of Mexico, widely regarded as a traitor. So a malinchista is someone who symbolically betrays Mexico.

Chilango

These are people from Mexico City, which incidentally is called D.F. (pronounced “deh-EFF-ei” in Spanish). There’s some debate about whether chilangos are people born there or who moved there later, but for our purpose it’s any of the 9 million residents of this massive metropolis.

Cholo

Cholos are Mexican hip-hop kids — big pants, big chains, and a whole other world of slang. I’m sure Mexican rappers Cartel de Santa would proudly call themselves cholos.

Chairo

Chairos are the left-leaning, save-the-world types who believe in a socialist utopia. I suppose a loose translation to English could be social justice warrior. Yes, it’s an insult to call someone a chairo.

Derechairo

The corresponding insult for people on the right is derechairo. Dere-, as in derecha, get it? Another word is mocho, especially for the overly religious.

¡Pinche mochos y chairos se odian!

Cafre

Cafres are terrible drivers, who often drive a carcacha, a beat-up car. Another Mexican slang word is cacharro, but this may apply to anything busted, not only cars.

Ñoño

Ñoños are nerds, and as an adjective it means nerdy. Apparently in Spain ñoño means cheesy, though in Mexico cheesy is cursi.

Metiche

A busybody — someone who pokes their nose into everyone’s business — is a metiche. If the person is a gossip, then he or she is chismoso, as chisme is gossip (the noun).

Mandilón

This is a guy whose wife or girlfriend is always bossing him around. It’s not vulgar, even if the English equivalent certainly is: pussy-whipped.

Tocayo

Not an exclusively Mexican word, but interesting because there’s no equivalent in English, a tocayo is someone with the same name as you. You can say somos tocayos or just call the person with the same name as you tocayo, like a nickname (apodo).

Words for Describing People

Unlike folks north of the border, Mexicans can be quite direct when describing people, with words and nicknames like gordito (fat), flaco (thin), and moreno (dark skinned). Though to describe a dark-skinned woman, for example, it is nicer to add the diminutive -ita, as in morenita.

Güera

If you’re a light-skinned woman with blonde or even light brown hair, you’ll for sure be called a güera in Mexico, which means — surprise — a light-skinned woman with blonde or light hair. For men the word is güero, and in both cases there are two little dots above the u.

Prieto

A racist, or at least bigoted, term for dark-skinned people.

Codo

Codo means elbow, but in Mexican slang it means stingy, as in a cheap or stingy person. People who are codo doesn’t want to flex their elbows by pulling out money and putting it on the table. The non-slang word for this is tacaño.

No seas codo  – Don’t be cheap.

More expressions use codo, like hablar por los codos, which means talk too much, or romperse los codos, which means work too hard.

Buena

Women with a nice body are buena (hot), bien buena, or the even-more emphatic buenota.

Estas bien buena güera. — You are hot (have a nice body), white lady.

Be careful with these, as obviously they can be taken the wrong way. For example, not many women would enjoy being called a gordibuena — a hot fat chick.

Another way to say a person is hot is chula, which can also mean good in a general sense.

Cochino

A pig, in the general, metaphorical sense of the word — dirty, disgusting or rude, whatever applies. It can also be used like an adjective: Tu casa está cochina — your house is dirty. To say it in a nicer way, use cochinito.

Pelón, etc.

A common nickname, used as a noun, this refers to a bald guy, especially those who shave their head. Pelo is hair, so pelón means…well there’s some irony at work here.

This brings us to another topic: the -ón  and -ona suffixes, which you can add to all kinds of adjectives, such as:

Nalgas: butt — nalgona: girl with a big butt. (And slapping someone on the butt is a nalgada)

So, you can add -ón or -ona to any body part to describe someone who has a prominent one. For example:

Nariz: nose — narizón: guy with a big nose

Cejas: eyebrows — cejón: guy with bushy eyebrows

Frente: forehead — frentona: girl with a big forehead

Bigote: mustache — bigotona: girl with a mustache

Culo: ass (vulgar) — culona: girl with a big ass, possibly complimentary (but still vulgar)

Cebolla: onion — cebollón: what my wife calls me when I eat too many onions

You also can do this with jobs: -ero or -era makes a job title.

Obra: work project — obrero: worker

Palomita: popcorn — palomero: popcorn seller, who walks the streets with his cart.

Culo: ass — culero: literally ass seller, but actually more like asshole.

Jeta

A special mention for jeta, which doesn’t have a direct English translation. (These are often the most interesting words in Mexican slang.) A jeta is a dirty look, a sour expression on your face. Maybe you’ve heard this newly-minted English expression: resting bitch-face. That’s a jeta. So a woman with a jeta is a jetona.

Words for Family Members

Jefe/Jefa

Your father is your boss: mi jefe, and your mother too: mi jefa.

Vieja

Your wife or girlfriend is your old lady: mi vieja. Sure, it’s not respectful, but it is common. Old ladies, on the other hand, are usually called viejitas, with the diminutive softening the blow.

Esta vieja — this old lady, could refer to any female, usually with a negative connotation. And viejo, old man, can be used among friends like man (if you get sick of using wey, cabrón or carnal, that is).

Mijo

Mothers talking about their sons use this combination of the two words mi hijo — my son.

Padre

Padre (father) means cool or good, not for people but things or situations. Está padre — it’s cool, great. Está padrísimo — it’s awesome.

In Mexican slang, madre (mother) is much more common than padre, although unlike padre, it’s full-on vulgar. Which brings us to…

Bad Words

Bad language, groserias in Spanish, make up some of the most diverse, prevalent and versatile types of slang in any language. Whole books and websites are devoted to bad words in Spanish — English too. It can make for a lifetime of study, and if you want to get into it, a great website to check out is run by my friend Rodney: “¡Qué boquita!” No seas pelangoche.

In the interest of your Mexican slang education, I’ve included five of the most versatile badass Spanish words, which can be twisted into many meanings. They are, in their basest form: madre, mamar, huevos, cabrón, and chingar — of course with a few bonus ones mixed in.

Madre

As I wrote above, in Mexican slang padre isn’t a bad word, but madre certainly is. Why? Well, as an anonymous commenter wrote on my article Top Ten Mexican Slang, mention mom and the fight is on.

Here are some ways to use madre:

Que pedo con esta madre — What the fuck is wrong with this fucking thing — you can use madre to refer to pretty much anything.

Me vale madres — I don’t give a fuck.

Ni madres — No fucking way.

A toda madre: This means awesome, or when about yourself it means you’re feeling great, ready for action, as in Estoy a toda madre.

Que poca madre: Something bad, wrong, not pleasing for sure. ¿Reprobaste tu clase? Que poca madre. — You failed your class? That sucks.

Desmadre: A mess, or a fucked-up situation, is a desmadre.

Partir la madre: This means kick your ass, as in te voy a partir la madre. A simple verb for this is madrear. And once you get your ass kicked, you will be covered with madrazos, or bruises, also known as putazos.

For example: Voy a madrear todos estos pinches blogueros que copian el contenido de mis artículos.

Hasta la madre: To be sick of something. Ya yo estoy hasta la madre, de que me pongan sombrero (The first line from “Frijolero” by Molotov, a great song full of Mexican slang).

Mamar

Etymologically speaking, mamar is related to mamá (mom). But there’s no good translation for mamar to English, except possibly suckle or breastfeed.

As you can imagine, this is fertile ground for slang. Mamar the verb, therefore, means give a blowjob, and the noun blowjob is a mamada. But mamadas can also mean bullshit, AKA pendejadas (from pendejo, asshole), chingadazos, and many more, including the dinner-table-acceptable tonterías.

If a guy is mamado (an adjective this time), it means he is muscular — implying he breastfed a lot and got big.

Remember fresa above? Another Mexican slang word for picky, stuck-up people is mamón, or mamona for women.

Finally, as mentioned above, the extremely common no manches (Come on! No way!) is actually a euphemism for no mames, literally don’t suck me off. Remember to conjugate your verbs, even when using Mexican slang — if you’re talking to a group of guys (don’t use it with women), say no mamen.

Cabrón

When I travel in Central America, in places like Guatemala or Honduras, and I tell people that I live in Mexico, they often say ¡Ah, cabrón! That’s how Mexican this word is, that other Latinos think of it right away when they think about Mexicans.

I always assumed it came from cabra, goat, but supposedly it has older origins, beginning with the conquistador and pirate Pedro Hernandez Cabrón, who was so horrible that his name eventually became an insult.

When used as an insult, cabron translates best to bastard, though not in the sense of someone with unmarried parents. But it can also be said to a friend — a male friend, of course. Like bastard, cabrón isn’t the right thing to say to your boss or girlfriend’s father.

Cabrón can be used in other ways, especially for something difficult — Está carbon. If you say that about a person, it means he’s tough.

If you’re angry, you’re encabronado/a. It can be used like a verb: Me encabrona (or me encabrita) este wey — this guy pisses me off.

Está cabrón has a substitute for use in mixed company: está cañon.

Chingar

Much like English’s beloved f-word, chingar has a wide range of uses, from describing something positively: está chingón (it’s fucking awesome), to negatively: está de la chingada (it’s fucked up). The euphemism for this is de la fregada.

If there’s a lot of something, traffic for example, you can say hay un chingo de…, for example hay un chingo de tráfico. The non-vulgar way to say this is un montón de… or un buen de…

In general, you can utilize chingar to express the foulest, rudest, and most aggressive sentiments, such as chinga tu madre (fuck your mother, or simply fuck you) or vete a la chingada (go fuck yourself).

This is a truly Mexican word, and to learn the origins and deep thoughts behind it read The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz. (Click the books for info.)

For everyday uses, check out the Chingonario:

Chingar as a verb typically means fuck up rather than have sex. Another good one for fuck up is joder. Estoy jodido — I’m fucked.

For actual sex, expressed vulgarly, use coger, which in other Spanish-speaking countries means grab or hold. Use it like that in Mexico and people will laugh like crazy.

¡Chale!

Here’s a bonus word, similar to chingar: ¡chale! is like shit! or fuck! when something bad happens.

Huevos

We know that huevos are eggs, but all over the Spanish-speaking world, huevos are also balls (testicles).

In Mexican slang, huevos can be used much more widely. When my Spanish was still at a pretty basic level I had a student who said huevos días to me — not a very nice thing to say.

One of my favorites, ¡A huevo! means of course! or hell yeah! — very useful. Another variation is tengo hueva, which means you are feeling lazy, and a lazy person is a huevón. If you say me da hueva, it means something bores you. Que hueva — how boring.

Drinking

Yes, bad language and drinking go together like lime and salt, and likewise words for alcohol and drinking are a source of so much great slang. Think about English: booze, a brew, getting wasted, pissed, hammered, fucked up…

Chela

Chelas are beers, also known as cheves. The word may come from micheladas, a big cup of beer mixed with tomato juice, lime, hot sauce — there’s even a place in Mexico City that puts shrimp and slices of mango in their micheladas. Perhaps an acquired taste.

Caguamas

The best deal for beer drinkers in Mexico are caguamas, big returnable 40-ounce-ish bottles. As a commenter pointed out to me, technically the biggest one is a caguamón, although this is a marketing term I’ve never heard spoken. A caguama is a type of sea turtle, by the way.

Another useful container for beer is a latón (big can), a tall boy in English.

Pomo

A pomo is a bottle of liquor. I’ve even heard the big one — what we call a half gallon in the U.S. — called an elephant foot: pata de elefante. I like that.

Pisto

This is the vulgar way to say booze, and the verb pistear is the vulgar way to say drink (the verb). You can also say chupar, suck, as in vamos a chupar — let’s drink/get drunk.

Mala copa

In Mexican slang, a mala copa is a bad drunk, you know — one who loses control, fights and cries. No seas una mala copa.

Crudo

Literally raw, crudo means hungover, as in estoy crudo or tengo cruda (I have a hangover).

Cantina, antro

A cantina is a bar and an antro is a nightclub. A rodeo is a kind of nightclub that specializes in banda music — the cowboy hat-wearing groups with loud drums and big horn sections.

Pedo

I could have put pedo under Bad Words, as it’s versatile, common and oh-so vulgar. Literally a pedo is a fart, but most often it means drunk.

Estoy pedo — I’m drunk.

Therefore un pedote is a boozer, a big drinker, although it could also mean a big fart.

The noun peda is a drinking party or binge, also known as a borrachera or a chupe. The party itself, fiesta, could be called a pachanga or parranda.

Pedo also means problem, as in ni pedo or no hay pedo, the vulgar substitute for no hay bronca, no problem. ¿Cual es tu pinche pedo? — What’s your fucking problem? A pedero is a person who causes problems.

Finally, you can use ¿Que pedo? instead of ¿Que onda? to say What the fuck is up? (in a friendly way), or with an angry tone of voice, What the fuck? The euphemism for these is pex, as in ¿Que pex? or ni pex.

Miscellaneous Useful Mexican Slang

This Mexican Slang Master List is getting a to be a little long, so long that I think I might have to write a sequel with words for crime and punishment, sports, drugs, food, and especially sex. But for now, I’ll leave you with a few good ones, necessary ones, which for sure belong on a comprehensive list of the most important slang from Mexico.

Rola

Songs are rolas, an alternative to the regular Spanish word, canción.

La banda

La banda might be the band, but it could also be a group of friends.

Chamba

A job, often a difficult or shitty job. You can say Tengo que regresar a mi chamba or ask ¿Que chamba tienes? The verb, chambear, means work, and without pride or enthusiasm.

Tengo que chambear mañana.

Changarro

It means a small business, a little store or small restaurant. So, does changarro have anything do with chango, the Mexican word for monkey?

Chafa

Chafa describes something cheap or low quality. Este coche es chafa.

Varos

Varos (sometimes spelled and always pronounced baros — remember there’s no v sound in Spanish) means money, but not in the general sense like lana (wool, money) or plata (silver, money), but in the numerical sense (pesos), like bucks.

Esta vale cien varos — It’s worth one hundred pesos.

Refresco

A refresco is a soda, like a Coke. But if a policeman asks you for a refresco, he’s asking for a bribe.

Paro

A favor is a paro, as in Hazme un paro — Do me a favor.

Chiste

A chiste is a joke (una broma) and something funny is chistoso. Chiste can also mean the trick, or the way to do something, as in el chiste es hacerlo así — the trick is to do it like this.

Albur

An albur is a vulgar pun. This fascinating aspect of Mexican culture deserves a whole other article. It can also be used as a verb, alburear.

Gacho

This is substitute for feo, ugly, though both words are used in a much wider sense than for physical ugliness. For example: Hueles feo — you smell bad (not ugly).

I originally spelled this incorrectly as gaucho (thanks for the correction), which is an Argentinian cowboy and an excellent Steely Dan album.

Jalada

Jalada means overdone, or ridiculous, as in action movies in which the hero is shot at by 100 foes but not one bullet hits him.

Chorro

Literally spill, it means diarrhea, as in tengo chorro. It can also be used to express that you have a lot of something — not necessarily diarrhea.

Ratero

A ratero, or simply rata (rat) is a thief, a criminal — worse than a rat, if you ask me.

Vocho

Remember the cafres driving their carcahas? Well, the carcacha might be a vocho (pronounced and sometimes spelled bocho), the nickname for Volkswagen Beetles, which are everywhere in Mexico.

Chamarra

In Mexico, don’t call your jacket a chaqueta, because that’s the Mexican slang word for jerking off. Use chamarra instead.

Chanclas

These are sandals, AKA huaraches, an old indigenous word that is also a kind of food (delicious). If you walk around in public with chanclas, you might be called chancludo.

D.F. and Chilangos

Meaning Federal District, and pronounced “deh-EFF-ei,” this is how most people refer to Mexico City. It may be called simply México, but almost never La Ciudad de México, except on documents or plane tickets, although the government is currently trying to change this. By the way, people from D.F. are chilangos.

Zócalo

An essential word for travel, the zócalo is the main plaza or the central square of a city, otherwise known as the parque central.

Colonia

This means neighborhood, not the English cognate colony. Residents may be called vecinos (which usually means neighbor) or colonos.

Depa

Your depa is your apartment, departamento.

Camión

A camión is a bus, whereas in other parts of Latin America it’s a truck. I remember telling people in Guatemala that I arrived by camión, and they looked at me crazy until I figured it out and explained myself. The official word for a bus in Mexico is autobús, not plain bus, unlike Spain and elsewhere.

Tope

We’ll end this list with a word that’s not just slang, but a big part of any Mexican experience, especially if you drive. Speedbumps are everywhere, often unmarked and totally hidden in the dark night. Aguas when you drive over them, because hitting them hard makes everyone in the backseat bounce up and slam their heads into the roof of the car, or worse, gives you a flat tire.

Speedbumps are topes, and only in Mexico. In other parts of Latin America and some parts of Mexico they are tumolos, reductores — which other words?

Part 2 is coming soon and will include more Mexican slang and badass Spanish words for food, sports, sex, drugs — all that fun stuff. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to your comments, corrections and complaints.

(This post contains paid Amazon Associate links.)

Let’s say that you’ve been studying Spanish for a while. Now you’re ready to visit a Spanish-speaking country to put all that knowledge into practice and measure your progress. 

Mexico is a great option. It’s close to the States, it’s cheap and it has great food and a lot of fiestas! All you need to know are a few Mexican slang words and you’ll be ready to mingle with the locals. 

In this post, we’ll learn about the origins of Spanish in Mexico, why it has so many words that don’t exist in other Spanish-speaking countries, and some of the most widely used Mexican slang words (and I should know, as a Mexican citizen!). 

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Traveling to México

Traveling is one of the most enriching activities you can engage in. It opens your eyes and mind like nothing else does, except for books maybe. But it comes with its own share of challenges,  the language barrier being the most obvious one. So, it’s always a good idea to learn some basic words and phrases of the language spoken in your destination. 

However, the Mexican version of Spanish has some particularities to take into account.

Mexican Spanish Overview

In the 500-year history of the Spanish language in México, its development is deeply intertwined with its relationship to the indigenous languages that existed before the arrival of the Spanish. 

That’s why you see so many words using the ch sound, which is a legacy from the Nahuatl, the Aztec language. This characteristic is also strongly reflected on Mexican slang words such as chido, chafa, chamba and many others. For a quick journey through Mexican slang listen to the famous Café Tacvba song Chilanga Banda.

20 Mexican Slang Words

1. Chido

Chido means cool, awesome. It’s not a bad word, but it almost surely comes from a bad word. Everybody understands it in México. You can also say padre instead, both words mean the same.

¡Están chidos tus tenis!
Your tennis shoes are cool!

2. Chavo/chava

These words mean boy and girl, and are understood in most Latin American countries, thanks to the popular Mexican TV show El Chavo del 8. 

Aquel chavo de allá trajo la pelota.
That boy over there brought the ball.  

3. Güey

In the past, güey used to be a bad word, but not anymore. Nowadays, you can hear it on the radio, on TV ads, and pretty much everywhere. It means “dude,” “buddy,” “mate,” and it’s also widely used as a filler word throughout México.  

Oye güey, ¿hiciste la tarea?
Hey dude, did you do your homework?

4. La neta

La neta is the truth, but as explained in the Mexican film Y tu mamá también directed by Alfonso Cuarón, is much more than that. That movie is a crash course on Mexican slang and in it, la neta achieves cosmic significance.    

La neta es chida pero inalcanzable.
The truth is cool but unattainable. 

5. Chafa

Chafa refers to something of low quality. It can be an object like a car or a phone but also places or events. Something not nice. A vacation, a government, or a concert can all be chafas. A similar word in English would be “crappy.”

Está muy chafa la película, mejor vamos por un helado.
This movie is very crappy; we should go for an ice cream instead.  

6. Gacho

Gacho has a similar meaning to chafa, but they are not exactly the same. It can mean ugly, bad, boring, or not cool. Even though objects can be gachos, the term is usually applied to situations or people. 

El profesor de español es muy gacho.
The Spanish teacher is not cool.

7. ¡No manches!

This is the kid-friendly version of another expression that’s not suitable for all audiences. It expresses surprise, disgust, and rejection. Depending on the situation it can mean “really?,” “no way!,” or simply “damn!” 

¡No manches! Estuvo muy difícil el examen.
Damn! The exam was really hard. 

8. Carnal

Literally means “brother,” but as with “bro” in English, it’s used to refer to good friends, too. 

María, te presento a mi carnal.
María, this is my bro. 

9. Compa

Compa comes from compadre, which is what a kid’s father and godfather are to each other. It means “friend.”   

Dejen a mi compa en paz.
Leave my friend alone. 

10. ¡Aguas!

Agua means water, but in this case it’s a warning. In the past, sewage waters used to be thrown out of the window and people would shout ¡Aguas! to alert other people who were passing by. Now, it’s used as a more general warning in Mexico. Interesting how languages evolve. 

¡Aguas! Viene un coche.
Watch out! A car is coming. 

11. Buena onda

Buena onda is a phrase coined in the sixties and it embodies the spirit of that decade. It means “good vibes,” “groovy,” or “cool.” 

No te preocupes, mi papá es buena onda.
Don’t worry, my dad is groovy. 

12. ¿Qué onda?

The onda brought a whole vocabulary with it, and there was even a cultural and literary movement based on it. ¿Qué onda? means “What’s up?”

¿Qué onda? ¿Cómo estás?
What’s up? How are you?

13. ¡Órale!

¡Órale! can mean “wow!” or “awesome!” It expresses undefined admiration.

¡Órale! ¡Qué grande está este avión!
Wow! This plane is huge!

14. Pachanga

A pachanga is a party or a simple gathering with friends.

¿Estuvo buena la pachanga anoche?
Was the party last night good?

15. Chamba

A chamba is a job. You can go to la chamba, which is going to work. And it’s also a verb—chambear means working. 

¡Me encanta mi chamba!
I love my job!

16. Un chorro

To have un chorro of something is to have a lot of it. Remember that the double r in Spanish is a strong sound. 

Tengo un chorro de chamba.
I have a lot of work. 

17. Un choro

Just by getting rid of an r, the word completely changes its meaning. Un choro is an excuse, a lie, the stuff people say when they didn’t do what they were supposed to do and are now trying to talk themselves out of trouble. 

¡Que buen choro te inventaste!
What a great story you just came up with!

18. Hueva

Hueva is a term that expresses laziness, a state of being unwilling to do anything. It can be translated as sloth. 

¡Qué hueva tengo!
I’m so lazy!

19. Codo

Codo literally means elbow, but in Mexican slang it means stingy. 

Préstame 100 pesos, no seas codo.
Lend me 100 pesos, don’t be stingy.  

20. Lana, feria, varo

All these words mean “money” in Mexican slang. Think of the American “bucks” or British “quid.”

Se me acabó la feria.
I ran out of money. 

La Neta del Planeta (“The Truth of the Planet”)

“The truth of the planet” is that now you are ready to visit Mexico and show off your Spanish skills and Mexican slang mastery. If you know any other Mexican slang word that you consider should be included on the list, leave a comment and start a conversation!

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